Salty Crackers

I don't like when timberwolves are used as 'guard dogs' for choke points, and with the notable exception of the Cannery, they thankfully aren't. The routes I take in BI are much less direct than they could be simply because I go far out of my way to avoid the timberwolf packs. If I want to go from the Cannery Worker Residences to the FM-BI cave, I can start fires to warm up in the overturned trailer on the Long Bridge and possibly at the Washed Out Trailers, if the wind permits (which it won't). I have to weigh the condition loss from freezing against looking for shelter and possibly encountering a pack of timberwolves. If you place timberwolves in a way where they can't be avoided, the player simply won't go to these areas if they aren't totally prepared. If the reward isn't good enough, the player will simply never go there at all. I can't warm up in the Cannery as there is no way to avoid the pack patrolling. I'm relatively comfortable in the Delta, as the timberwolves are avoidable, but if you get disoriented, there's still a chance of running into a pack. This is their best use- a formidable threat which can be dealt with using map knowledge, but a challenge to the unknowledgeable and unlucky. The Crash Site could certainly use more challenge, but timberwolves are not the answer. I would simply put a couple of normal wolves at the site. On another note, there is no need to compromise. My opinion is no more or less valid than yours. While I personally don't like summiting day 1 being a viable strategy, there's nothing wrong if it's one of your favorites.

I personally don't like a Day 1 summit being an option at all, but there really isn't a way to prevent it. Timberwolves would make it somewhat more challenging, but I guarantee people would learn the patterns and summit anyway. If you are able to do it and really want to, go ahead. Starting in AC is not a good idea. I was suggesting going from the Mountaineer's Hut to Echo Ravine, getting the crampons and technical pack (no rope climbs needed), and exiting via the Deer Clearing cave. It's a good strategy, and skips having to climb some of the mountain (although when I did it, I was promptly mauled by a moose on my way to the Deer Clearing cave, needing to use two stims to summit).

BI really isn't that bad. All the timberwolves can be avoided (except if you want to loot the Cannery, where a marine flare will scare them off easily for a couple hours), although you have to take less direct paths. The real killer is the CONSTANT headwind and bitter cold making it hard to make it to the FM cave without losing a good amount of condition. The current meta is to rush the summit (maybe doing AC first), getting the tons of loot before day 10. After you've done it so many times, it gets pretty easy as long as you have a bedroll. Timberwolf packs shouldn't be positioned at choke points, but if you go too far off the path (or get really unlucky with a bear scaring them towards you), you would be in for a fight. There wouldn't be a pack 'guarding' the Summit like at the Cannery, only on the way to the Summit. Originally, the only distress pistol spawn was on the Summit. Later, it was added to the Ravine. The Basin was a dead end and the rope was punishingly long, so if you were too tired to get out (or forgot your bedroll), you were trapped and died. As of now, you have a bed in the cave in the Basin and an access point to BI, so there really isn't much risk at all. While it gets relatively easy to summit after doing it many times, it is still somewhat of a challenge, versus climbing up a single long rope close to shelter in the Dam. There is a fourth distress pistol spawn in HRV by a randomly spawning corpse, but I don't know if it is guaranteed. As HRV can be punishing to unprepared players and the location varies each game, I'm fine with it. The distress pistol really isn't good against timberwolves. The reload is too long and ammo scarce. It's better than nothing, but the marine flare is simply better in all respects, practically guaranteeing victory as timberwolves won't attack as you hold it and each throw drains a good amount of morale. Marine flares aren't hard to find either, with guaranteed spots in the FM-BI cave, the hunting blind by the birch trees, and in the Cannery Worker Residences, among other places. They are hard to find outside BI, as HL hasn't overhauled the loot tables in a while, but that isn't the highest priority for them over something like Episode 4. If timberwolves were added to other regions, you would certainly see some new marine flare spots in other maps.

Fishing is really good. Never forget this. ML isn't the best map to get the rifle. A smaller map with fewer spawn points is the best place to look. Every map has at least one rifle and revolver. If I remember correctly, Hibernia in DP is guaranteed to have a rifle, but there are several spawn points, sometimes hidden behind some crates. BR is also great. Between the Maintenance Shed and the Hunting Lodge (and one of the cars outside the Lodge) I never fail to find a revolver. The rifle is somewhat harder to find in this region, as sometimes it spawns down below the broken bridge where you need to put a rope down, but you will often find one in the Hunting Lodge. Generally for the first few days, you should keep moving, hitting major loot areas to get clothing and food. I like to make my way towards CH, as there is plenty of food and clothes to be found in the houses if you can get around the wolves. After you are comfortable with the amount of stuff you're found, you can settle down and organize expeditions from your home base. On the subject of wolves, there are a few things to know. On Voyageur, you have 12-24 hours before wolves spawn, so if possible, loot wolf-infested areas first. Wolves will generally not attack if you simply keep walking away from them. Try to either get inside a loading screen or break line of sight, although the latter may not work if you are carrying smelly stuff like meat and raw guts. Wolves also fear campfires. Recently the AI has been updated to make this less reliable, but it still generally works. Flares are your friend. While holding a flare, wolves are much less likely to attack, often just standing there as you walk past. You can also throw the flare (or a torch) to scare them off, but you have to aim the flare to land directly in front of the wolf. Whenever you aim a weapon at a stalking wolf, be it a rifle, bow, flare gun, rock, or revolver, be prepared for it to charge. If you aren't comfortable hitting a charging wolf, fire the revolver without aiming. You're less likely to hit it, but it will be scared off. Scent is really important. Even if you don't have a bar of scent, as long as you have anything smelly in your inventory, it is easier for animals to detect you. Minimize scent whenever possible. Wind carries scent as well, so if you stay downwind of an animal, it is harder for them to detect you.

Depends. What do you need tips on? Resource management? Wolves? Not freezing to death?

This is the purpose of the forums. HL does actually read the forums, but a lot of the little ideas don't get implemented as they want to wait for the next major update to change anything beyond tuning and hotfixes in the few weeks after a major update. I would rather have these nitpicks addressed quickly, but that's not how HL works.

Reminds me of Rimworld. You can make patchleather out of any combination of leather, but it is invariably worse than all other textiles. It's never really useful unless you're living in a place with almost no animal life or ways to grow cotton. I don't think we would need a mechanic like this in TLD. Why would I hunt bears for the renewable bedroll if I could just cobble together an inferior bedroll out of scraps I have laying around? Sure, I lose some of the temperature bonus, but the ease of manufacture and repair tremendously outweighs the negatives. Late game, if you are not able to consistently get pelts to repair your clothing, you shouldn't have the clothing. Early game, you shouldn't be worrying about crafting clothes besides maybe the improvised wraps if needed. The one place this might make some sense is with moose hide. Being able to constantly remanufacture the moosehide cloak doesn't make any sense. Perhaps make the moose hide harvestable into 2 moosehide scraps for use in maintaining moosehide gear.

TWM has plenty of wolves, but no timberwolves. Its whole existence is a lie. A few packs of timberwolves (not to the extent of BI) would make the Summit a more interesting challenge. A few rebalances may be needed: Make all other Distress Pistol spawns non-guaranteed. If you only want the flare gun, why would you risk summiting if you can just climb down the Ravine? Only put timberwolves on the approach to the summit, maybe patrolling by some of the cargo containers. Keep regular wolves by the Mountaineer's Hut. Or simply rename it to Wolf Mountain.

I use dryer lint myself. Another good idea! Dryer lint as a non-renewable tinder source with a bonus to fire starting chance.

The firestriker has always had a +15% chance for firestarting while the torch has +5%. It never made any sense to me as a ferro rod is way harder to use than other firestarters, but I don't imagine this will change.

Prybars can only open lockers, car trunks, fishing holes, and the Orca Gas Station. You need a hacksaw for the cargo containers. Their main use after you loot the world is opening fishing holes. The hammer does this as well and can also be repaired, but you might as well use up the prybars first. They are also decent in a struggle, essentially a weaker hammer that weighs half as much. I would still recommend using the hammer or improvised hatchet on loper (or the hatchet on other difficulties) but sometimes you only have a prybar on hand.

The Long Wool Scarf might see some use in its current form due to the fact that it decays the slowest of all non-craftable headgear, so for the loper going for the 20 year run, it might make sense. Otherwise, totally inferior to the wool toque.

I've never seen all 3 of the Waterfront Cottages burned down. Often there is only one left, but all 3 have beds, so it's not really an issue. On a side note, you can also sleep in the car at Commuter's Lament, but I'm not sure why you would.

Turns out the firestriker gets priority over lit torches as well. It's not as much of a problem, but if I'm already holding a lit torch, do I really need the extra 10% chance of a firestriker?

Ash Canyon is a pretty terrible map to start out in on Loper. There are plenty of matches by the rope bridges on the top level of the map, but near the bottom there are pretty much none. The best strategy is to get out ASAP. Most spawns are relatively close to the Echo Ravine exit, so beeline towards it, stopping in Angler's Den if it is on the way there. For firestarting, there is a chance of a flare spawning in Angler's Den, but don't count on it. A backpack will spawn behind the waterfall along the path towards the mine, with a small chance of a pack of matches. For the spawns on the mid-level of the map (such as the spawn in front of the Deer Clearing cave) you should hug the right wall, first passing a plastic container (only for the spawn directly in front of the transition cave) and then a tree bridge. Cross the tree bridge and continue until you reach a rope bridge. In the cave to the right, a pair of flares sometimes spawns, and you might find some matches on either side of the rope bridge. Cross the rope bridge and goat down on the right side. You should be close to Bitter Marsh and well on your way out.

The only place I know you can deploy a mountaineer rope in BI is on the top level. It's probably not worth hauling around.

I always wished you could move those desk lamps as well. It's not like they need to be plugged in!

I noticed during my last expedition to BR that you are able to cure in the porch area. Does this mean it no longer counts as outside for fire duration, meat storage and cabin fever?

I included consideration of those past threads to give context to my thoughts on this one as well. I didn't mean for it to confuse the issue. Fair enough. Another way I avoid using starvation as a strategy is setting at-rest condition recovery to none. The only way to gain condition (besides stims and tea) is passive condition recovery, which requires you to not be starving.

A lot of proposals in the past have focused on things like vitamin deficiency, 'rabbit starvation' (protein poisoning), fat reserves, etc. Focusing solely on caloric intake is the simple solution. The game shouldn't require a balanced diet, but a diet where you simply eat enough to survive.

The rolling average could be longer and a grace period added, but the main purpose of a rolling average is to stop use of starvation except for short periods, as you are forced to keep a positive calorie count for the majority of the time. While malnutrition over a longer period makes sense in reality, in-game it would be too easy to exploit, with long periods of starvation interrupted with short food binges to lower starvation risk.

My solution currently is not using starvation as a strategy. I think a harsher penalty for starvation is a good idea. To me, a simpler system would be a 6-day moving average (like Cabin Fever) of time over and under an arbitrary calorie level (like 500). This forces the player to keep the hunger bar filled and uses information more readily available to the player.

Interloper decay is 200% Stalker decay, so them lasting 12 years in an Interloper save is around 24 years in Stalker. I'm not sure exactly how you would measure decay when being used, though. Further research is needed.

FM is pretty easy to navigate after you've been through there several times, but once the fog inevitably rolls in, it's still quite disorienting for me. The biggest problem with long term living in FM is the lack of indoor space. Spence isn't the worst location, but you have to go to an outdoor cave pretty far away to cure hides and firewood isn't too plentiful nearby. Marsh Ridge isn't too bad. No predators, deer and moose, indoor cave to warm up if needed, great snow shelter spot, but the closest workbench is at Spence and maintaining a snow shelter can be a bit of a pain long-term. I've never lived long-term in a snow shelter, but I've been meaning to experiment with a few unconventional spots, like the Hermit's Cabin in Milton Basin. With crafted clothes, you won't need a fire every night and with the addition of crampons, you could hike up to Paradise Meadows for crafting. I don't know how viable it is as I've never tried it, but it might be an interesting place to consider.

I was going to go to the Cannery as well, but it appears that has already been found out. I've been wearing them for around 7 days, climbing many ropes (TWM summit, up and down Ravine) and, and been mauled by a moose (a lot of stims needed to summit with broken ribs) and a wolf (just a sprained wrist, no clothing damage) and the crampons are still at 100%. It's possible they only degrade in predator encounters, in which case they are technically usable forever if you get lucky.